Seeking advice new to dragon kin

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Hello everyone I recently made the decision to adopt a beardy from petco (I know the stigma there but even they need a home right?). I’m aware the age and sex can’t be determined yet but a friend of mine believed him to be about a month and a half at 5 1/2 inches making him incredibly young. It’s been 5 days now and I’m hoping to receive any tips, recommendations and constructive criticism. This is my first beardy and I’d like to ensure he’s getting the best life he can and being I’m new at this I’d like some help. Since I got him he’s very timid and clings to the environment when I put my hand in the enclosure. I’m aware he just needs to warm to his new setting and due to that I leave 10-12 crickets powered with flunkers calcium in his enclosure for him to eat at his lesuire over the course of the whole day. I tried Dubai’s but given the fact he eats at his own leisure having Dubai’s in his enclosure allows hiding and he can’t get to them. He didn’t eat much when I tried putting food in front of him out of the tank and thought maybe he just doesn’t want to be touched early on. Now I’m not sure if he’s eating enough I suppose that’s my largest concern. I forgot to mention but the setup and lights I have are from zoomed to be exact it’s “Zoo Med ReptiHabitat Bearded Dragon Terrarium Kit, 20 Gallon”. I’m using everything from the setup at the moment though due to speckled research I’ve ordered a lamp stand, a ceramic heat emitter, and a thermometer/hygrometer combo. Again I’m new to this and am seeking constructive criticism, help and tips, also i was going to add photos but I’m not sure how. I appreciate anyone taking the time to read my post have a phenomenal day and stay safe out there with this craziness.
 
Please don’t leave the crickets in the tank :eek: they can bite your Beardie horribly and can also lead to death. Mine wouldn’t eat when I first got her but I just kept trying a few times a day until she’s would eat then she got in the habit. What kinda light do you have? What is your substrate?
I wish you luck! :D
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I am assuming the kit came w/ a coil bulb? Your baby is not going to be in that tank long --- he will need to be upgraded to a larger one - what is recommended is a 75-120 gallon tank but it is also for what ever you can afford- I would tho start investing in new lighting as soon as you can --- most of us on here recommend the Reptisun 10.0 tube bulb either the T 5 or T 8 -- you will need a fixture w / a reflector and depending on the size of the tank please do not get one the full length of the tank - they need to be able to escape the rays of the UVB w/ out having to hide from it --
Please do not leave crickets in the tank over nite they bite and can cause infection -- you were ok w/ the dubias -- alot of us on here feed dubias beings they are easier to take care of and more nutritious than crickets anyways--- I would feed the crickets as many as he can eat in a 10-15 minute time frame that way your keeping track of what hes eating and not having to look for them in the tank -- are you feeding salads? It is best to get them started on salads now -- some dragons will not eat their salads if they are not started right away - at this time his main diet is the insects but he should be getting salads every morning --- I can give you some tips on how to start getting him to eat them if your having issues w/ him eating -please ask if you have any more questions
Karrie
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
DragonkinIgneel":3rqotgun said:
Hello everyone I recently made the decision to adopt a beardy from petco (I know the stigma there but even they need a home right?).
....
I’m hoping to receive any tips, recommendations and constructive criticism.

IMO, this was not an adoption--it was a purchase. An adoption is taking over the care from a previous caregiver not engaged in buying & selling--either from an individual or a rescue.

As long as well-meaning people keep falling back on this rationalization, big-box chains will keep buying and selling reptiles like any other commodity/product they sell, and questionable breeders will have a market.

That said, what's done is done, and folks here (self included) will endeavor to help you as best we can.

Sex can usually be ascertained at any age. See: Sexing dragons with flashlight?

I agree with what's been said about leaving crickets in the enclosure. Dubias are considered by many to be a better staple feeder; they can be offered in a bowl with slick sides (glass or ceramic) that they cannot climb out of, as can other feeder insects.

Keeping a reptile responsibly can be an expensive hobby (and by "hobby" I mean money pit)--more expensive than keeping a dog or cat.

Please spend some time perusing everything in the Care Sheets and Articles section on this site, watching videos on YT (and asking questions about them here--some are good, some are not so good), and spending some time researching on your own on google.
 

DragonkinIgneel

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":gk4d0ihc said:
I am assuming the kit came w/ a coil bulb? Your baby is not going to be in that tank long --- he will need to be upgraded to a larger one - what is recommended is a 75-120 gallon tank but it is also for what ever you can afford- I would tho start investing in new lighting as soon as you can --- most of us on here recommend the Reptisun 10.0 tube bulb either the T 5 or T 8 -- you will need a fixture w / a reflector and depending on the size of the tank please do not get one the full length of the tank - they need to be able to escape the rays of the UVB w/ out having to hide from it --
Please do not leave crickets in the tank over nite they bite and can cause infection -- you were ok w/ the dubias -- alot of us on here feed dubias beings they are easier to take care of and more nutritious than crickets anyways--- I would feed the crickets as many as he can eat in a 10-15 minute time frame that way your keeping track of what hes eating and not having to look for them in the tank -- are you feeding salads? It is best to get them started on salads now -- some dragons will not eat their salads if they are not started right away - at this time his main diet is the insects but he should be getting salads every morning --- I can give you some tips on how to start getting him to eat them if your having issues w/ him eating -please ask if you have any more questions
Karrie
I’m not sure if I’m replying to this correctly but here it goes. I’d like to thank you Karrie for the insight into the tank sizing. I realized after I purchased and set the tank up that I should’ve paid for the larger enclosure trial and error haha. I had a feeling I should have had a better light but wasn’t sure on the matter. I have a local feed that I was recommended to yesterday and they carry reptisun lighting so I will have a trip today. Speaking of feeding I tried feeding Igneel outside his tank and he wouldn’t touch the crickets or Dubai’s for more than 5-7 mins on two different occasions. He does prefer them in his tank but this isn’t the best method so I will stop immediately. Is there a tip for encouraging I can use? Any tips towards salad improvement would be muchly appreciated as well and again thank you
 

DragonkinIgneel

Member
Original Poster
Sarasttarke":kwyik89i said:
Please don’t leave the crickets in the tank :eek: they can bite your Beardie horribly and can also lead to death. Mine wouldn’t eat when I first got her but I just kept trying a few times a day until she’s would eat then she got in the habit. What kinda light do you have? What is your substrate?
I wish you luck! :D
This is reassuring news thank you! I just have to be consistent? How did you do with handling in the beginning? I’m in the process of changing it, but it’s the zoomed 20 gallon bearded dragon enclosure set up. How do I post pictures here?
 

DragonkinIgneel

Member
Original Poster
MrSpectrum":jdv02kic said:
DragonkinIgneel":jdv02kic said:
Hello everyone I recently made the decision to adopt a beardy from petco (I know the stigma there but even they need a home right?).
....
I’m hoping to receive any tips, recommendations and constructive criticism.

IMO, this was not an adoption--it was a purchase. An adoption is taking over the care from a previous caregiver not engaged in buying & selling--either from an individual or a rescue.

As long as well-meaning people keep falling back on this rationalization, big-box chains will keep buying and selling reptiles like any other commodity/product they sell, and questionable breeders will have a market.

That said, what's done is done, and folks here (self included) will endeavor to help you as best we can.

Sex can usually be ascertained at any age. See: Sexing dragons with flashlight?

I agree with what's been said about leaving crickets in the enclosure. Dubias are considered by many to be a better staple feeder; they can be offered in a bowl with slick sides (glass or ceramic) that they cannot climb out of, as can other feeder insects.

Keeping a reptile responsibly can be an expensive hobby (and by "hobby" I mean money pit)--more expensive than keeping a dog or cat.

Please spend some time perusing everything in the Care Sheets and Articles section on this site, watching videos on YT (and asking questions about them here--some are good, some are not so good), and spending some time researching on your own on google.

I apologize if I may have offended anyone with my inaccurate terminology. I merely thought of the act of befriending a animal in need of a home reason to claim adoption. I do agree with what you said it’s sad the process the animals go through and now I see I played to much on my heart than with my head on this one. I appreciate you constructive criticism and you insight into educating others. Thank you for sending the link for the sexing I’ve been very anxious or rather eager to find out the sex if possible. Dubai’s will for sure be the next major change everyone’s saying it haha. Is there a trick to feeding Dubai’s to dragons that you recommend for starting out? Thank you again for all the knowledge I appreciate the help
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The dubias are fine in the tank -- feed as many dubias he will eat in a 10 minute time frame or so -- it is best to use worms to lure him to the bowl a glass or ceramic bowl and then add your dubias after about an hour or so of him eating from the salad bowl you can put like 8-10 roaches in the bowl to start w/ and go from there ----- crickets are harder to use as they jump out unless you disable them by pulling a leg off-- --- so your changing out the tank size and UVB? What size tank? And what are you getting for a fixture I can recommend a 24" fixture w/ reflector and a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 bulb for a 40 gallon tank and up --- if you need websites for worms let me know I will post some
Karrie
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, welcome to the forum ! Good thing that you're good natured since you had some well meaning but blunt first replies. :) Good advice though, you will need a larger tank before he's grown. First I'd like to say that no one should feel bad about where they got their dragon, that is your business so no need to apologize. Second is, although it's not good to leave crickets in the tank you definitely can feed him in there, they're not going to eat him. I raised babies for a quite a few years and never even had a cricket bite on the babies . You simply have to be watching as he eats them, and this can be done 2-3 times a day. You can feed him crickets by shaking them up in a jar [ put a pinch of calcium powder in ] , shake them pretty hard so they are dizzy + weak. Then drop 3-4 at a time right in his view and repeat until he loses interest. This way he easily grabs them up while they are wobbling around and you can keep track of them. I hope your new baby does well and there are no major problems as he grows. BTW, can you post some pics of him + his set up ? Here's how :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them
 

DragonkinIgneel

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":2fpek7nj said:
Hi there, welcome to the forum ! Good thing that you're good natured since you had some well meaning but blunt first replies. :) Good advice though, you will need a larger tank before he's grown. First I'd like to say that no one should feel bad about where they got their dragon, that is your business so no need to apologize. Second is, although it's not good to leave crickets in the tank you definitely can feed him in there, they're not going to eat him. I raised babies for a quite a few years and never even had a cricket bite on the babies . You simply have to be watching as he eats them, and this can be done 2-3 times a day. You can feed him crickets by shaking them up in a jar [ put a pinch of calcium powder in ] , shake them pretty hard so they are dizzy + weak. Then drop 3-4 at a time right in his view and repeat until he loses interest. This way he easily grabs them up while they are wobbling around and you can keep track of them. I hope your new baby does well and there are no major problems as he grows. BTW, can you post some pics of him + his set up ? Here's how :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them
Hello there and thank you for the warming welcome I really appreciate the reassurance with Igneel as well haha. I have a favor with the raw efforts people give in opinions as I know most mean no harm it’s more like constructive criticism than most know. Most people are saying this about upgrading but I have at least 6 months before upgrading right? He’s about a week from 2 months I believe and his length was 5 1/2 inches when I got him. So this is the trick to feeding cricketsand Dubais! Now I understand thank you so much for that and now as you said I can keep track of his eating talk about a breakthrough. I will try to figure out the pictures now as well
 

DragonkinIgneel

Member
Original Poster
DragonkinIgneel":2p6z4nbs said:
AHBD":2p6z4nbs said:
Hi there, welcome to the forum ! Good thing that you're good natured since you had some well meaning but blunt first replies. :) Good advice though, you will need a larger tank before he's grown. First I'd like to say that no one should feel bad about where they got their dragon, that is your business so no need to apologize. Second is, although it's not good to leave crickets in the tank you definitely can feed him in there, they're not going to eat him. I raised babies for a quite a few years and never even had a cricket bite on the babies . You simply have to be watching as he eats them, and this can be done 2-3 times a day. You can feed him crickets by shaking them up in a jar [ put a pinch of calcium powder in ] , shake them pretty hard so they are dizzy + weak. Then drop 3-4 at a time right in his view and repeat until he loses interest. This way he easily grabs them up while they are wobbling around and you can keep track of them. I hope your new baby does well and there are no major problems as he grows. BTW, can you post some pics of him + his set up ? Here's how :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them
Hello there and thank you for the warming welcome I really appreciate the reassurance with Igneel as well haha. I have a favor with the raw efforts people give in opinions as I know most mean no harm it’s more like constructive criticism than most know. Most people are saying this about upgrading but I have at least 6 months before upgrading right? He’s about a week from 2 months I believe and his length was 5 1/2 inches when I got him. So this is the trick to feeding cricketsand Dubais! Now I understand thank you so much for that and now as you said I can keep track of his eating talk about a breakthrough. I will try to figure out the pictures now as well
107737-3434999329.jpg
107737-4461450246.jpg
These were taken Thursday. I got creative using a piece of slated tile that I couldn’t fit more of hence the large slab there and I purchased mosaic slayed tiles to fill majority of the tank, bought wood from a local pet feed and poured boiling water/vinegar over them then dried over night in my restroom with a direct heater. I also threw in some vita sand for cosmetics and now with a new feeding method I’m sure he won’t invest any of the sand. I currently am awaiting a couple of ceramic heat lights via amazon along with a thermometer/hygrometer and a lighting stand and will be purchasing the reptisun T10 if I wasn’t mistaken in a previous comment above. Aside that in my mind any suggestions? Ahh I almost forgot there’s a picture of Igneel?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
So your tank looks nice-- I was gonna say you would need to move the UVB inside the tank but w/ you upgrading to the T 5 I am assuming? That can sit on top of screen but basking decor needs to be either 8-10 inches if screen is wide holed or 6-8 for a fine screen like a screen door---+ your little dude is cute-- if you want it inside the tank it needs to be 12-15 inches
Karrie
 

DragonkinIgneel

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":3s4mzesv said:
So your tank looks nice-- I was gonna say you would need to move the UVB inside the tank but w/ you upgrading to the T 5 I am assuming? That can sit on top of screen but basking decor needs to be either 8-10 inches if screen is wide holed or 6-8 for a fine screen like a screen door---+ your little dude is cute-- if you want it inside the tank it needs to be 12-15 inches
Karrie
Thank you! I was feeling really insecure about how to go about it being this is my first dragon and I’ve never done this before. I also forgot to mention I used the carpet substrate as the base before adding the tiles and sand for added security and stability. The T5 lighting got it thank you again for clarifying that I appreciate it haha. The top of the screen is fine mesh so I will be keeping these measurements in mind for sure. Little man is so adorbs I’m really looking forward to getting him to be handled. I received him on the 20th and I’m sure he’s feeling better about his enclosure so tomorrow I’d like to try handling 2 hours after his first meal in the morning.
 

DragonPete

Sub-Adult Member
Welcome! Your baby is adorable ? and the tank looks great! ?
Being new can be overwhelming. Hang in there, it gets easier very quickly.
Stay safe and stay healthy! ?
-Dee
 
DragonkinIgneel":i7inge3o said:
Sarasttarke":i7inge3o said:
Please don’t leave the crickets in the tank :eek: they can bite your Beardie horribly and can also lead to death. Mine wouldn’t eat when I first got her but I just kept trying a few times a day until she’s would eat then she got in the habit. What kinda light do you have? What is your substrate?
I wish you luck! :D
This is reassuring news thank you! I just have to be consistent? How did you do with handling in the beginning? I’m in the process of changing it, but it’s the zoomed 20 gallon bearded dragon enclosure set up. How do I post pictures here?
Yes, and I would try to handle mine quiet often, few times daily, to get her used to people, also go to where u would right something And press XIMG.
 
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